PressEthic

Did we learn anything from the likes of Glass, Kelley, and Blair? Apparently some journalists missed these huge stories and thought they could continue to cut corners and beat the system. A recent story by William March details the investigation of former Tribune journalist Brad Smith.

According to March, Smith resigned in April because he falsified information for a story about automotive towing companies. Honestly, automotive towing companies? I know it’s not the most interesting topic, but why risk your career just to spice it up? But that’s not all. March reports that Smith possibly made up quotes, used paid endorsers as sources, and lifted quotes from other media stories.

Smith denies all of the allegations except for the ones associated with the automotive towing story. Why Smith, why? Even if it was a one-time mistake, how could you be so careless in the wake of so many examples of journalistic fraud? Is it possible that you thought you could still get away with it?

I imagine that lots of journalists still think they can get away with it, and they probably are still cutting corners. As a future journalist I wonder why so many reporters take the risk. I certainly do not approve of plagiarism or fabricating stories, and I certainly do not want to justify either of these acts, but there must be some rational - not ethical - reasons for acting so dishonestly.

I have very little experience as a journalist, but I can already see some reasons why a journalist might test the system. Obviously there is a lot of pressure to meet deadlines and to please Editors. Also, the journalist needs to string enough part-time/freelance gigs together to pay the bills. I have noticed that a lot of journalists have more than one job and I cannot imagine how hard it is to keep up with the day-to-day grind. Perhaps, after a while, the pressures of the job catch up to you and you try to find ways to make your job easier.

I hope I never find myself in that position. It seems that it takes a special person to handle this job, especially when the opportunities for significant remuneration are not common. If I ever get to the point where I consider doing something unethical, I hope that I will know that it is time for a career change.

Brad Smith does not have that option, or maybe he does. He can always teach an ethics class at a University like Octavio Roca.